Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2019 - Social & Behavioral Sciences — History, Geography & Area Studies — North America

After two disastrous "opium wars" with Britain, Qing China attempted to learn about the Western countries threatening it. This delightful book examines the careers of six Qing envoys who traveled to Europe and the US between 1866 and 1897. Day (Skidmore) employs the tools of communication theory to interpret the reports the envoys produced, showing how they crafted messages to fit their knowledge of the West into various conceptual schemes and world views. A chapter is devoted to each envoy, with significant biographical detail and thorough analysis of how each conceived of the relationship between China and the new world the envoy encountered. The chronological framework highlights the growing familiarity of Chinese officialdom with Europe, which helped produce a shift from attempts to fit Europe into a China-centered world view to the development of the idea of the equivalency of Chinese and European civilizations. The history of Qing missions to the West has often been written from the perspective of Westerners; this fascinating study shows how the missions were understood among Chinese. The book's organization facilitates classroom use. Each chapter can stand alone as an absorbing case study of cross-cultural encounter.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic levels.